A Trek Too Far

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The trek started as planned even though there were only three of us. Myself and Chris and Richard who were both from Canada. As we left Chiang Mai we were stopped by a tourist policeman (an English ex-pat from Sussex) who toild us to be careful about putting on mosquito repellent as there'd been an outbreak of Dengue Fever.

We drove out of Chiang Mai and, after a shop at a market to pick up any kit we didn't have, started to walk through some beatiful scenery at around half past ten. The start was mostly fairly level, crossing a couple of shallow rivers. Our guide was Tarzan (that's what he told us his name was) and his assistant was his cousin whose name was either Pop or Bob or some Thai in-between version like Phobh. Both were members of the Lahu hill tribe that we were going to visit, but from a different village.

After about an hour or so we stopped for lunch by a small waterfall. Along the way Tarzan had picked some jungle mangoes for us. He also offered us some ants, but we turned him down. After lunch we all had a swim and then continued the trek. The first section was a steep climb and, though I was not at all tired, I became quite out of breath climbing it. And that became gradually worse as I went on, though my legs stayed strong.

It was also a bit difficult for me to keep an eye both on the footing and the trail ahead which was often not clear to me. The paths were often narrow and, at fisrt sight appeared so impassable to me that I thought I must be looking the wrong way. But, in fact, there was nothing particularly hard. One bridge, high over a river, was just two parallell bamboo poles, and I got across it as fast as I could. I was mostly looking down to avoid missteps but then had to refocus through my varifocals to see the way ahead. We mostly went up, we ended at about 1,000 metres, but there was a good deal of down too. I tried to recover my breat on the flat bits, but there weren't many of them. Chris and Richard, with Pop, drew ahead of me and Tarzan.

The views were tremendous. On one side the wooded slopes of the mountai we were walking up and on the other a view across a valley of similar mountains on every side. There had ben no sign of any other persons since the trek started. Suddenly I heard a sound of bells ringing musically, folowed from a shout from Chris for me to watch out - a cow was ambling along the trail towards me, the bell tied around its neck giving warning. We were nearing the village.

Chris and Richard drew farther ahead and I walked slowly with Tarzan, still unable to catch my breath. Then I looked across the valley donwards to my right and saw buildings - the village was in sight. We had to go downg\hill now and soon I could hear voices and then we arrived to see that Chris and Richard had arrived already and were playing football with Pop and one of the villagers. The village is on a faiirly sloping mountainside and you have to go up and down hill a lot just to walk around. It's about four or five hundred yards in length. Hens and cockerels wander about as do the cows most of the time and a few pigs.

I took a shower as soon as we arrived and got changed. The shower was downhill from the dormitory and was an unroofed bamboo shed with a sinly tap high up - well about 5 foot six, which meant it was fine for me. The tap produced a spray of lukewarm water but it was really refresshing after the long walk. We'd been walking for about four hours in total and Tarzan told us that we'd covered 10kms and climbed to 1,000m.

All the buildings in the village were of wood or bamboo. There was no mains electicity. from the table outside the dormitory where we ate our meals we could hear mothers singing songs to their children and watch as processions of cows were led from one place to another. When this happened the noise of the cow bells ringing in uniosn seemed really tuneful adn it was hard to understand that it was the result of mere chance - unless, indeed, the cows had been secretly musically trained and were dancing as they walked so as to make the best sounds.

After my shower I went for a walk to explore the village. I really wasn't tired but I knew I still wasn't quite breathing normally.

I think the village is about half a mile long, stretching round the mountain but only about three or four hundred yards up and down. On one side I saw a few huts with solar panels. Tarzan explained that this was mainly for radio, as the panels did not provide enough power for anything more. Children were playing and people were going about there affairs. I could see into the insides of some huts but didn't want to seem a spy or a voyeur and wanted to respect the local people. About 70 people live in that village. Tarzan's village is a bit larger and 2kms away with a population of 270.

Nearby there was a large wooden cage, imprisoning a fearsome boar. Presumably he is only let out to service the sows. He continually thrust his nose against the wires of his cage.

The dormitory was made of wood, about 18 feet by 40 feet long with a sloping roof about 15 feet high. The roof was suported by pillars of unworked tree trunks. The floor was of wooden boards, lower in the mid section that led from the dormitory's door to the back and raised on either side. On each side the boards were covered in woven cane or rush mats. There were sleeping bags laid out and a sheet to lie on. There were four mosquito nets on each side, each with room for two sleepers, so the dorm could easily have coped with 16 people and there were only three of us, so we had a lot of space and a mosquito net each - though I couldn't be bothered to use mine. The policeman had only said to put the repellent on, he'd not said a word about nets. In any case, I could see that they all had gaping holes in them so only the least enterprising mosquito would be deterred. There were no windows but some light was provided s\during daytime as the tin roof at one end was replaced by a strip of plastic. The roof itself, like the others in the village, was of tin but was covered in dead leaves, which gave it an attractive appearance.

By supper time it was completely dark and we ate by candle light. To stop the candles going out, they are housed in a sort of lantern made from cut down mineral water bottles. Hardly a light could be seen from any of the cottages, probably most people there go to sleep and wake up with the sun.

Apart from the hunters. Tarzan told us that they'd had a kill and took us over to a hut where they displayed two large aquatic lizards of some kind - Tarzan didn't know the English name and I can't remember what he called it in either Thai or Lahu. One was not quite dead and twitched its tail as Tarzan flicked its nose - it will soon be dead, he assured us. The animals were hunted for meat and would be cooked ready for the next day.

In the night there was absolute need of a torch if you wanted to visit the toilet. This was located behind the dorm and slightly upslope. It was clean and well maintained, with a toilet that had to be fushed with a bucket of water. Toilet paper had to be put in a bag.

I fell asleep and slept well but then aawoke and wanted to go to the toilet. Before falling asleep, I had carefull placed my torch - a rather nifty one I could wear on my head - by my left side, together with my glasses, watch, toillet paper, and a bottle of water.

So, I awakened and wanted to use the facilities and reached out for my glasses and the torch. But they didn't fall to hand. I swept my arm about. Nothing.

There was nothing I could do. I can't see much without my glasses anyway, and it was pitch dark. I could see literally nothing at all. I had to go back to sleep. It rained heavily that night, or at least it sounded heavy as the noise of the rain was exagerated as it fell against the tin roof.

Finally, when dawn came and light crept into the dorm through the plastic at the end and the gaps beween the wooden boards that made up its walls, did I see what had happened. The bottle (which was the only posession of mine I could see without my glasses) was somehow to my rigtht, not to my left. Somehow, in my sleep, I had turned completely around without realising it, so that my head was to the centre of the dorm and not to the wall! So when I felt with my left arm, the objects were really to my righjt. Alls well that ends well and I was finally able to visit the toilet. It had stopped raining but the mud was very slippery and I really ahd to watch my step as I slowly climbed the slope up to the toilet.

Then I had a shower (necessitating another careful amble downhill) and it was soon time for breakfast. I declined the offer of the iguana / crocodile and settled for a more standard meal of toast and egss and surprisingly good coffee,

After yesterday, I'd decided not to continue. I was to catch a motorbike down the mountain and go back to Chaing Mai, taking in some elephant riding and rafting along the way. I was worried that the same thing would happen againa nd I'd not be able to catch my breath. It was a shame, but I had walked 10kms and got to 1,000m under my own steam and I didn't want to unnecessarily hold up the others.

Anyway, the motorbike ride was an adventure in itself. Obviously, we needed to take a different route as even the most expert motorcyclist could not have hoped to traverse some of those paths. We had, it seemd to climb first to the very summit of the mountain. I was thinking, "I want to go down", but we travelled inexorably upwards. The driver, a friend of Tarzan's was very careful, driving slowly and cautiously. Sometimes, I thought, he kept too strictly to the rule of the road by driving on the extreme left (Thai's drive on the left side of the road - that is the right side - like us) when he was withing an inch or two of sending us both spinning off the mountain as there was a sheer drop on that side and little prospect, it seemed, of oncoming traffic.

In fact we were passed by three or four motorbikes going in the opposite direction. The driver seemd to be related to or to be friends with all of the riders. We passed through about three other villages on our way up. In one anoher friend or relation gave us both some more of the fruit that the religious taxi driver in Sukothai had given me.

Finally, after a long period of mostly ascending with ocasional descents, we started to descend more regulalry, crossing a coujple of rickety bamboo bridges. I could see terraced farming taking place in some of the adjacent fields.

We only skidded once and I felt quite safe sitting behind the driver on the pillion. It took a total of one and a half hours to get down the mountain, and finally end up on proper levelroads with markings. I was dropped off at a restaurant where I was to await anotther BMP pick up truck with two more trekkers.

I didn't have to wait long and was joined by the other two who were from Malta and also stying at the BMP Resident.

The elphant riding was no so much fun fo rme as at Kanchaniburi. The elephants did not seem to want to go and the mahout ahd to prod them repeatedly with a sharp stick.

But the rafting was a lot better than on the Kwai. These were narrow rafts, just 9 bamboo poles wide, and we went over several rapids. Only one, the last one, was a real fall - about three feet I think - but it was great fun and we all got soaked. Our raft polesman was very aggresive and seemed to want to overtake every other raft - there were loads of rafts as it was Sunday and that's the Thai weekend too. This attitude meant that we were constantly colliding with other rafts and knocking them into obstacles where they got jammed - and we often got jammed with them.

Towards the end little children were paddling in the river and splashing the rafters and we splashed back and a good time was had by all.

And then it was back to BMP.

Since then I've walked completely around the city moat - see I told you I wasn't tired just out of breath - had supper, and found an interesting looking park I'd like to look around in the day time. But it's very late now, so I think that's for another blog . .

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